Neat stuff I've found and love to share...

Pandora - My folks actually turned me on to this one. Music, exactly the kind you like but may never have even heard before, streamed live to you over the internet without commercial interruption. Absolutely free. Think of a couple of songs or maybe an artist or two that you like, and type them in to create your personal radio station (you can have up to 100). It took longer to read this than it does to get the hang of this elegantly simple yet monstrously powerful tool that has totally changed the way I listen to music.

flOw - A diversion, to be sure, but this online portion of student Jenova Chen's thesis on "flow in games" is really something else!

Google - Yep, you've used the search engine to find everything you need (and more) on the web - but believe it or not I come across people who don't realize the wealth of additional tools this amazing company keeps churning out week after week. (no, I don't own stock)

• Google Earth - If you haven't spun the globe in full living color with this beautiful way of looking at our planet, not to mention checking out the pool in your neighbor's backyard, you will be blown away. Check out the Grand Canyon for your first stop, and you'll be hooked.
  
  
• Google Talk - Google's take on Instant Messaging, with a tiny footprint and voice-over-internet that sounds as good or better than phone quality, even when talking to my folks in Costa Rica!
  
  
• Gmail and personalized home pages - There've been a lot of websites that want to be your "portal" to the web, but google's version finally made my hand-written versions a waste of time. With dozens of little components you can include and arrange very simply, I learn something new every day before I even get to surfing the web! Since I use Gmail for my important school correspondence, the snapshot of my inbox is especially helpful.